This invention relates generally to web browsers, Internet Telephony and Computer Telephony Integration (CTI), and more particularly to techniques for processing calls using these anrd other similar technologies.
Telephone switching systems such as Private Branch Exchanges (PBXs) and key systems have long provided the ability to redirect calls when the called party is busy or does not answer the call. This is accomplished with features known as call forwarding or call coverage, which allow calls to be redirected under busy or no answer conditions to alternate telephony endpoints. These endpoints may include an alternate telephone for the called party, e.g., a telephone at a home location, or a telephone for a covering person such as an operator or secretary. Calls may also be redirected to a voice messaging system where the caller can leave a message for the called party. In this case, the caller can typically listen to a greeting which has been recorded by the called party. The greeting is used to supply information that the called party wishes to convey to callers, such as a schedule or alternate telephone numbers. Conventional greetings in this context are generally limited to recorded voice announcements. Actions that the caller can take while listening to the greeting are limited to those that can be easily achieved using a touch tone user interface based on the telephone keypad.
Increasingly, communication applications are making use of Internet technologies and standards. Web browser and server applications, for example, provide a widespread infrastructure for delivering multimedia content. Also, for example, applications are beginning to make use of the Internet for voice calls. As the popularity of the Internet grows, it becomes increasingly desirable to use Internet technologies and related applications to enhance the call redirection and greeting services that are made available to users.
Unfortunately, existing call processing techniques generally do not take advantage of the full capabilities provided by Internet technologies. For example, although conventional personal web pages can provide important and useful information about a called party, such as alternate telephone numbers, a weekly schedule, a photograph, and so on, such pages are generally not automatically retrieved and displayed to a caller in response to a call attempt. Conventional CTI applications such as xe2x80x9cscreen popxe2x80x9d applications in call centers focus on presenting information about the calling party to the person receiving the call. These implementations do not benefit a caller who, under circumstances where the called party is not available, needs more options and information on how to reach the called party. In addition, the above-noted call forwarding and call coverage features in conventional telephone systems redirect calls to predefined destinations, and typically do not allow the caller to choose where to direct the call. Moreover, conventional IP telephony applications typically do not provide call coverage or call forwarding features nor do they provide an acceptable greeting service.
The invention provides methods and apparatus for automatically retrieving and displaying a greeting web page in response to a caller placing a call to a called party. The web page can be automatically retrieved over a communication network, such as the Internet or an intranet, upon initiation of the call. The web page presents information related to the called party and gives the caller options for contacting the called party, redirecting the call or obtaining additional information. These options may include, for example, redirecting the call to an alternate destination, redirecting the call to a covering person, and paging the called party. The invention improves the ability of the calling party to reach the called party or to obtain useful information about the called party. The invention thereby provides substantial advantages over a conventional recorded voice greeting and a touch tone user interface, or a personal web page which is not automatically accessed in response to a call attempt. The invention can also be applied to Internet Protocol (IP) telephony calls in which a call is placed over an IP data network or other type of network.
In an illustrative embodiment of the invention, a greeting service is implemented in a communication system that includes a calling party terminal and telephone, other user terminals and telephones, a telephone system, and an application server, with the telephone system, terminals and application server interconnected by an Internet/intranet. A calling party initiates a call to a called party by, for example, manually dialing a telephone number at the calling party telephone, or entering appropriate information at the calling party terminal. The identity of the called party is available to the calling party terminal, for example, because the call was initiated by the calling party terminal or because the telephone system sends this information to the calling party terminal via the Internet/intranet.
After the call is initiated, a request for the location of the called party greeting data is sent from the calling party terminal to the application server. In response to receipt of the request at the application server, the location of the called party greeting data is sent from the application server to the calling party terminal. A request for the greeting data associated with the called party is then sent from the calling party terminal to the application server. In response to receipt of the request at the application server, the greeting data associated with the called party is sent from the application server to the calling party terminal, and presented to the calling party during the call in the form of a greeting web page. As the state of the call changes, various types of call progress information may be sent to the calling party terminal from the telephone system or the called party terminal, and displayed in the greeting web page. The calling party can provide data and select actions to be taken These actions include, for example, initiating a new call to attempt to reach the called party at an alternate destination, initiating a new call to a covering person associated with the called party, such as a secretary or operator, paging the called party with numeric or alphanumeric messages, retrieving private information that is intended only for the calling party, and retrieving documents relating to the called party.
A greeting service implemented in accordance with the invention gives the calling party substantially more information and more control over their calls than is possible in conventional systems. Moreover, the greeting service can be implemented using existing standards. For example, the request for the location of the called party greeting data may be sent over the Internet/intranet using the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), and the greeting data may be sent via the Internet/intranet using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). Furthermore, the greeting data sent to the calling party terminal may be in a form supported by a Hypertext Mark-up Language (HTML) page or Java screen, such that the calling party can use entry fields on the form to provide data and use HTML links or buttons to invoke actions. By using these standard and widely available communication mechanisms, the greeting service can be made instantly and widely accessible without change to the existing Internet/intranet infrastructure. These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description considered together with the accompanying drawings.